Sam Nujoma

Sam Nujoma (12 May 1929-) was President of Namibia from 21 March 1990 to 21 March 2005, preceding Hifikepunye Pohamba. Nujoma was the founder and longtime leader of SWAPO, which he led from 1960 to 2007, and he successfully fought for Namibia's independence from South Africa during the lengthy Namibian War of Independence from 1966 to 1989.

Biography
Samuel Daniel Nujoma was born in Ongandjera, South West Africa (now Okahao, Namibia) on 12 May 1929 to an OVambo family. An early opponent of apartheid and South African rule, he founded the socialist SWAPO in 1959, which was carried largely by Ovambo support. Operating from Zambia and Angola (since 1975), its support from the Angolan government and Cuban troops guaranteed its survival against the South African army, which at times penetrated deep into Angolan territory. Following a successful Cuban offensive against South African troops in early 1988, P.W. Botha decided that South Africa could never win the guerrilla war, and accepted Namibian independence. In the parliamentary elections of 7-11 November 1989, SWAPO gained 57% of the vote, Nujoma becoming President on independence day, 21 March 1990. In the presidential and parliamentary elections of 7-8 December 1994, he was confirmed in office with 72.7%, which ensured a two-thirds majority for SWAPO, enabling it to change the constitution. He was re-elected in 1999, and he left office in 2005. He retired as SWAPO leader in 2007, and he became known as the "Father of the Namibian Nation".